Devlane

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the director of engineering at a digital art marketplace. We work with high-end artists from the traditional and digital world, providing them with a marketplace where they can publish their art to attract fans. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devlane?
We hired Devlane to do software development for us and augment our staff. Our company was completely remote, and we had developers all over the states. We wanted to grow the team quickly, so we engaged Devlane to add 50% more developers to our team to push out a bunch of new initiatives we had.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Devlane provides us with developers that can help us build a brand-new version of our platform. It needs to be high-quality, elegant, easy to use, and exceptionally reliable. The platform should be bug-free. As a result, the engineers should be able to deliver high-quality code and work at the pace of our startup — we’re moving rapidly, releasing a lot of code, and shipping out a ton of new features.
Our platform uses blockchain technology, and it involves a lot of complexities. Engineers from Devlane integrate directly into our own development team, and they partner with our developers for onboarding and learning our system.
What is the team composition?
We’ve worked with 2–4 software engineers from Devlane. An account manager meets with us regularly to ensure that we’re getting the results we need. The manager helps train and support the engineers. Besides them, we’ve also interacted with Devlane’s recruiters to find the right candidates and build the pipeline.
How did you come to work with Devlane?
I worked with Devlane in the past and booked their services before, so I was familiar with their team. I was happy with how talented they were and the quality of their work. As a result, I hired them for this engagement.
What is the status of this engagement?
The engagement started in October 2022, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
As a startup, we’ve had a ton of work cut out for us, and we’ve been able to deliver over the course of several months. We’ve accomplished one of the biggest transformations of the product in three years, overhauling the entire platform and re-engineering quite a few parts of it. In other words, we’ve completed a gigantic set of projects on time with exceptional quality — Devlane has contributed to this and has had a great impact on the effort.
Overall, the work they’ve produced has resulted in an immeasurably better product that creates outcomes for artists and the people who collect their art. We’ve had more users on our site who find the art they love.
How did Devlane perform from a project management standpoint?
Devlane engineers participate in our team standups and integrate seamlessly into our workflow. They join all of the meetings and the schedules we’ve put in place. Simply put, it’s been a frictionless integration. For tools, we use Asana for project management and Slack for communication.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re a great company to work with, and they can solve your problems with their ability to find great talent quickly. They’ve provided us with a bespoke solution that works for us. We need developers to do ambitious work for our project, and they’ve met our needs quickly. They’ve done it in a way where we can trust them to find talented people and support them.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there aren’t any.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Work closely with Devlane to ensure they understand your needs. That’s the most important thing that makes the engagement successful. If you truly understand what you need out of the relationship, Devlane will meet that need. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Ambassador Software is a SaaS company that provides referral software services aka "Refer-A-Friend". I'm the VP of Technology so I manage all development and engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devlane, and what were your goals?

Analyze and maintain acquired aging software infrastructure and begin to refactor it into something modern and feature-rich.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for onshore sub-contractors and found DevLane as a possibility. We had a couple of meetings with Martin and other folks and then began to interview candidates through them. The initial candidate we selected exceeded expectations in technical expertise, English-speaking communication, and the ability to work autonomously.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The work entailed digging into a mountain of deprecated services and code and come out with an understanding that enabled us to maintain it for bug/security fixes as well as refactor it into something better. This is an ever-evolving process and it won't be until next year (2023) that final refactoring is mostly finished.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Two people were hired from DevLane. First, Guillermo was brought on for backend software development in mainly Django / Python. Then later Juan was hired for frontend software development in React / Typescript but also old AngularJS / NodeJS / Express.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Most of the mysteries within the code have been either resolved or at least uncovered by Guillermo and Juan and the rest of the team. We have used this to create milestones for finishing up refactoring of the entire system and are well on our way to achieving a good portion of that by the end of 2022. This new infrastructure will enable us to focus more on client issues and product features to grow our business.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We started with Trello and moved to Jira for project management. All team members, including those from DevLane, participate in this. Conversations are held via Google Meet and chatting is done on Slack. Both Guillermo and Juan have kept me updated with their status and left little to chance or surprise. Standup has been a key meeting in keeping so many moving parts on track and going in the same direction and DevLane team members have participated enthusiastically.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The candidate capabilities from DevLane have been top-notch — they are seamless members of our overall team. Also, communication has been quick so all issues have been resolved without delay.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

A web portal to show our contractors and any information about them would be helpful. We have a contractor through another agency as well and their web app is not very good but it is a useful tool for checking information without having to send emails or record it in our own documentation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Engineering at an education technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devlane?

We were looking to expand our web development teams and worked with Devlane to find skilled engineers quickly.

SOLUTION

How did you select this agency and what were the deciding factors?

We were primarily looking to work with an agency in Latin America so that they can work during roughly the same hours as our US based team, in order to facilitate faster communication. After speaking with Devlane and a few other LatAm agencies, we were pleased with how quickly Devlane was able to present qualified candidates to our team.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The Devlane developers worked as part of our web development teams to develop features for our end users. The engineers typically worked on both the front-end and back-end changes for a given feature/project. We also hired an additional QA Engineer from Devlane who works with our dev teams on both manual and automated testing.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

After an initial discussion to present our project and teams, we then provided more specific requirements to Devlane in terms of the technical background that we were looking for with each position. After this step, Devlane would begin their search process and present us with candidates who match our profile. Our team would then interview the candidate (typically throughout 2 to 3 separate sessions), and if there was positive feedback from the team, we would then work with Devlane on the onboarding process. The size of our team from Devlane has varied over time, but on average we have worked with around 5 developers from Devlane.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

Devlane has delivered on their part in terms of helping us find and recruit quality developer quickly. This was especially important earlier this year as we were expanding the engineering team rapidly and were looking to tackle an ambitious development roadmap. Working with Devlane, we were able to get the teams/projects staffed quickly, and their developers were able to onboard and contribute meaningfully to our projects within a short timeframe. As mentioned above, the fact that Devlane and their developers are located in Latin America has also been a big plus for us.

We are a fast-moving team and constant communication is critical for us (not just within engineering, but with other stakeholders as well). By working with Devlane, we can quickly recruit developers with the same timezone/working-hours, which has helped us meet important milestones.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Devlane developers have worked well with their respective teams (which comprise of both contractors and US-based employees). They actively participate in team discussions and are always available if someone has a question about their projects. The Devlane management team as well is also generally very fast and responsive to our questions and feedback, often getting back to us within minutes even during the evenings and weekends. It is reassuring to have this level of support. I feel like they are truly invested in our team and working with us as collaborative partners.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They find experienced and qualified developers for us very quickly. The developers that we have worked with have been of a high-caliber and have made meaningful contributions to some of our most critical projects. Their management team has also been very responsive to our feedback and suggestions. I have worked with other agencies in the past where this was not the case (where we have run into more pushback and red-tape), so the collaborative attitude that Devlane brings is definitely a big plus.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing so far, they have generally been a pleasure to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a software engineer at a company that financially consults with pharmaceutical manufacturers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devlane?

We needed some engineering services; we were looking for developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devlane provides us with development and QA staff augmentation. They help us hire software development and QA engineers. We onboard these resources and integrate them into our in-house team. We have three custom software applications for which the whole team is responsible, and Devlane’s resources are part of that team. They build features and resolve tickets, providing their own equipment for work.

What is the team composition?

We have two main points of contact: a recruiting manager who helps us with hiring and the engineering team manager. 

How did you come to work with Devlane?

An employee at our company had worked with Devlane before. We went with them because they had a staff augmentation model where the engineers would join our team and act as our full-time employees. Since most of their engineers are located in Central and South America, they could work in US time zones, which was also a benefit for us, plus they had very competent English levels. Overall, they were a good fit. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $200,000–$400,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in Q1 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Devlane has been very helpful, and their work is high-quality; their resources meet the standards of our internal hires. Although we’ve had 1–2 resources we’ve had to provide feedback on and let one person go, for the most part, we’ve been very happy with what we get from the engagement. We don’t have individual KPIs for the engineers Devlane has provided because they’re a part of our team. 

How did Devlane perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira for project management. Depending on the project, we either use an Agile two-week cycle or the Kanban scheduling system. As for communication, we use Slack as our primary tool, and we also have Slack, Zoom, and email. The team is very responsive to our needs and requests.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devlane’s main strength is their attentiveness to how their staff is performing. They do constant check-ups and are always open to feedback and willing to work with us. Moreover, they’re very communicative, understand our needs, and do their best to meet them. We’re also thankful for the quality of their resources; the engineers have very high standards. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they need to improve; they’ve been pretty good. Even when we’ve had feedback about the engineers, Devlane has responded very well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Devlane has been very flexible, open, and understanding, so I’d advise you not to be afraid to try them because they’re willing to work with you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering at Feeld, an open relationship dating app. We cater mainly to women in non-monogamous relationships and people into alternative dating, exploring new experiences, or opening up their relationship to more than one person.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devlane?

About a year ago, we expanded our team and hired people within our engineering department. We engaged Devlane to get skilled engineers into the team to fill a gap while we expanded our team and hired our core employees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devlane provides development staff augmentation, and we have a rolling contract with them. We wrote a job description, and they sourced several candidates they thought might be a good fit for us and prescreened them. Then, we went through our internal interview process with the candidates; we gave them a technical challenge and an interview. We focused on the technical aspects rather than the cultural team fit because they would report to Devlane for anything HR related. 

From there, we onboarded one engineer into our team. Devlane helped us with onboarding regarding the technical stock and the minimum versions of software we use. The team ensured the engineer had the correct equipment and software when they started working with us. We handled the onboarding process for our product. 

Now, the engineer works directly with us as if they were one of our employees. They help with React Native development for our mobile app. The engineer picks up tickets from our product management team. These tickets have acceptance criteria, and they work through them to deliver against the requirements. 

What is the team composition?

I work with two people from Devlane; Daniela (React Native Developer) is our engineer, and Matías (Engineering Director) acts as her manager. 

How did you come to work with Devlane?

They were introduced to us by our VP of people, who had worked with Devlane at a previous company.

How much have you invested with them?

Our monthly invoices are between $5,500–$7,000. So far, we’ve spent around $85,000 in total. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We're very pleased with Devlane's performance. We've been very relaxed and open with this engagement and haven't set KPIs or monitored performance. We're not worried about metrics because the team has always delivered what they said. This really takes the pressure off us because we don't have to monitor the relationship. Daniela knows her way around React Native and has joined our team with very little guidance. She's demonstrated her value many times over.

Our company is fully remote; we don't have offices and have staff all over the world. Working across timezones is a big aspect of our company, and they've been able to integrate into the way we work and have open and transparent communication with us. Our relationship with Devlane isn't one we're looking to close down; we plan to continue working with them as we have. 

How did Devlane perform from a project management standpoint?

Our relationship with Devlane is very transparent. Matías and I have a monthly check-in to ensure the relationship is going well and that Daniela's performance is as expected. We've handled some HR decisions on our side. For example, if Daniela requests time off, we approve it on our side and then let Devlane know. 

The team attends every one of our calls. We use Slack for communication with Matías, where we have a company-to-company integration. Meanwhile, Daniela's integrated into our project management tools; we use a Kanban board, GitHub, and bug-reporting tools.

In terms of communication, we're lucky to have many native Spanish speakers on our team so that Daniela can communicate natively with them. However, she also communicates in English when she needs to. Although we've had instances of mistranslation, they've been rare, and Daniela's usually the first to identify these issues. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devlane is really good at letting us manage the relationship with the engineer how we want. For example, our company is very flexible and open, and we have unlimited holiday policies. Even though Devlane is a bit more traditional, they've allowed Daniela to integrate into our approach. As a result, Daniela feels like any other employee; the rest of the team wouldn't even realize she's outsourced. 

Although we can go over any topics we need in our monthly check-in, there haven't been any issues we've needed to discuss. The process has been very smooth, and we hope to repeat it when we bring in more engineers through Devlane.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything's been seamless. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to make sure the work is well documented and explained.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Everlane, a specialty apparel retailer. We do most of our business online worldwide, but we also have retail stores in the US. In my position, I’m responsible for our engineering products and data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devlane?

We wanted to scale our engineering team quickly, tapping into other labor markets. Our team was previously located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it was difficult to hire and retain software engineers in this market. We figured out that hiring engineers from other markets would be beneficial to reduce our costs and augment our team fast.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Devlane to help us augment our engineering team. Initially, I was looking for data analysts, so they provided us with two resources for our data analytics team. These resources didn’t work on a specific project; they were brought in to augment the team we already had in place.

As we launched new projects, we realized that it would be a great idea to bring in new resources from Devlane to work on projects from scratch. The first complete project that their team helped us with was creating an integration between our custom order management system and NetSuite.

Still, Devlane’s involvement has focused on identifying the software engineering skill sets we need for our projects. Throughout our engagement, they’ve helped us recruit and onboard these resources, basically being in charge of the entire hiring process.

Whenever we need additional resources, we provide Devlane with details of the skill sets we need. Then, they source candidates and take charge of the initial recruiting process. We then get involved during the final process to interview the candidates directly. Once they get our approval, Devlane handles the initial onboarding process, and we take it from there and integrate them into our processes and projects.

What is the team composition?

Currently, we work with two software engineers, two data engineers, and a data analyst Devlane has provided us with.

How did you come to work with Devlane?

I was referred to them when we were looking to fill a data analyst role. I got introduced to their data analyst team and found them to be a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

Currently, we spend about $400,000 annually.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Devlane has been able to find really talented resources for us. They’ve found very skilled people in their talent pool that otherwise we wouldn’t have access to. Additionally, the speed with which Devlane has hired these resources has positively impacted our efforts. They’ve been able to find resources within months, whereas we previously had technical roles open for months.

Looking at Devlane as a recruiting organization, their work is of very high quality. Additionally, the quality of the work these resources provide to our project is of a high level as well — their work pairs with the work our internal resources deliver.

How did Devlane perform from a project management standpoint?

Devlane’s resources are integrated into our processes. As part of the onboarding process, we onboard them to our tools and workflow. All of the resources have come up to speed with our project management style very quickly, ultimately working for us like any other member of the team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devlane is very easy to work with. They move quickly and find some of the best resources I’ve seen. The fact that these resources are an easy extension of our team is what distinguishes them from others.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Head of Engineering at ResortPass, a marketplace to allow our users to experience high-end resorts for a day and help hotels increase revenue

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devlane?

Frontend & Backend development, Quality Assurance for our web application and mobile applications that power ResortPass platform

SOLUTION

How did you select this agency and what were the deciding factors?

We got a referral from another CTO. Main deciding factor was flexibility in terms and ability to interview candidates based on our process. There didnt seem to be pressure to make decisions blindly or with unreasonable deadlines, like some of the other firms that I talked to.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We were able to hire 2 backend engineers, 1 frontend engineer and 2 QA engineers from Devlane. Backend engineers have helped extend our login capabilities to support service-oriented-architecture, where our new services and hotel-app use their login solution and APIs.

Frontend engineer helped us with launch of our www site with React and is actively involved in Analytics and A/B testing solutions. QA Engineers have been super valuable in working closely with our QA lead and maintaining high quality standard of our platform

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We first discussed the projects and job descriptions with our Account Manager. As we got candidates from them, we had a 2-step 2-hour total interview process to select the engineers. They were able to close all the selected engineers in reasonable amount of time at market-rates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

All the engineers have been producing high-quality work and have solid communication skills. They have surely made a huge impact in helping us with our launches and Quarterly Roadmap goals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All engineers are directly integrated with our frontend, backend or QA team. There is not us versus them in terms of workflow. all team members are treated as if full-time in-house engineers.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

There is no pressure to hire anyone. There has always been a transparent and free flow of information and feedback, which has made my life easier as a hiring manager.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Cant think of any so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of MyFieldAudits. We help companies elevate Quality Assurance through a series of software platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devlane, and what were your goals?

We decided to rebuild our entire platform from the ground up. Devlane had the team and expertise to help accomplish this.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to them through one of our partners. We choose them because: + Great leadership team + Excellent communication + Developers with a wide range of expertise + 4 Hour time difference for us

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The Devlane team built our platforms (3) from the ground up. +Native IOS & Android APP's (with full media capture) +Web Application +Remote Application They've been an integral part of the process; from design and strategy to implementation.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3 Full Stack developers and 1 lead engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The Devlane team is our main source of development and have helped us become a profitable business.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We meet with our team as needed and have a standing weekly meeting to review sprints. The cadence is set by our side with recommendations from our lead engineer. We use three different channels to communicate, based on what the need is.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their leadership. From day one, they were there for us. When our finances were tight, they got creative in order to help us keep going. They've always tried to find a solution for our needs!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not really, we were very satisfied with their services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Artswrk is a professional network for performing artists to find and book work. I am one of the co-founders and co-CEOs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devlane, and what were your goals?

We had begun low-level development with two interns and hired Devlane to analyze our greatest existing risks and liabilities, then to build a beta product and iterate for a public launch. Our goals were to build secure login flow, profile, homepage, network page, and connection capability, then to iterate based on user feedback and deliver a superb user experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We hired a product consultant who recommended Devlane from previous experiences working with them. We primarily hired Devlane based on her recommendation and from great initial conversations with Martin.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The project began with an analysis of our existing product, risks, and liabilities. We then built a product roadmap to go feature by feature, starting with login flow and profile, then homepage and network page, then personalized URLs, referral links, Google integration, Google ads and manual banner ads, plus bug and user experience fixes. We used MERN stack with Jira for sprints.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 3 Devlane team members: head of business development, a full-time developer, and a part-time technical product manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We had no users when we hired Devlane, then launched a beta product with 400 users, and within 6 months had tripled our user base. Average engagement time hovered around 3 minutes and we got fantastic qualitative feedback about the design and ease-of-use of the product.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had daily stand-ups with the team, usually over Zoom but sometimes offline based on scheduling. We used slack for communication and Jira for task and bug management and got into a nice sprint rhythm. We occasionally struggled with a language barrier but overall had a great experience.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I was most impressed by their breadth of resources within the company. Whenever our developer was not sure about something, he would reach out to the network of developers and they were extremely helpful in generating answers that we could implement into the product.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We would have preferred increased flexibility on our end with regards to US holidays. We respected all Argentinian holidays but were usually unable to take off for US holidays, which created some founder burnout. If and when we do another project with Devlane, we will work that into our contract.